The Association of Heads of Secondary Schools has come out against the introduction of moral and national education as an independent subject in schools. In an open letter to Secretary for Education Eddie Ng Hak-kim, it says schools should be allowed to decide the teaching mode and assessment methods of the subject. Meanwhile, the Professional Teachers' Union called for parents and students to sign a "pledge of conscience" against what the union described as "brainwashing". It collected about 2,000 signatures demanding the government withdraw the subject during the first three hours of a week-long petition campaign in Mong Kok yesterday.
A food factory on the ground floor of Goldtop Garden in Camp Street, Sham Shui Po, has been ordered to close for three weeks for illegally extending its business area, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department said. The factory had been convicted for four breach between August last year and May. It had been fined HK$8,300.
Marine police seized HK$600,000 worth of electronic goods off Lau Fau Shan, Tuen Mun, early yesterday. Four men were spotted loading a sampan shortly before 2am. They fled after being discovered, leaving behind the goods, including computer hard discs, digital cameras and mobile phones. Police believe the products were to be smuggled to the mainland.